Quiz 2 Early Civilizations

d. gathering fruits, berries, and roots 1. Old Stone Age people obtained their food by all of the following means, EXCEPT a. farming b. hunting c. scavenging d. gathering fruits, berries, and roots Old Stone Age people did not plant crops. That development signals the beginning of the Neolithic era, also known as the New Stone Age. Scavenging means to feed on the meat that is left behind after a predator kills an animal and feeds until it has had enough. Some anthropologists believe that humans relied on scavenging because they lacked the speed and strength to hunt successfully enough to feed their group. Others claim that cooperation and the use of intelligence made early humans successful hunters.

a. evolved independently in different parts of the world 2. Homo sapiens were found in almost all parts of the world by 12,000 years ago because they a. evolved independently in different parts of the world b. built boats to carry them across bodies of water c. migrated widely when sea levels were low during a glacial period d. were led by tribal kings to conquer new territories Homo sapiens had migrated to most parts of the world by 10,000 B.C. because low sea levels during the last glacial period enabled them to cross to regions that are now islands or separated by bodies of water. Most scholars of the prehistoric times accept the "out of Africa" theory that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa and spread from there to other continents.

3. Homo sapiens came to North America by a. a land bridge that linked what is now Siberia to what is now Alaska b. boat across Africa to South America c. a land bridge that linked Europe with Iceland, Greenland, and Canada d. rafts carried by ocean currents from Pacific Islands to South America The most commonly accepted theory is that during a glacial period Homo sapiens crossed a land bridge that linked what is now Siberia (Asia) to what is now Alaska (North America), sometime around or before 15,000 B.C. North and South American Indians are of the Mongoloid race because they have genetic similarities more common to the people of East Asia than to the Negroids of Africa or the Caucasoids of Europe, the Middle East, and northern India.

a. the use of mathematics began b. a system of writing developed 4. The end of the Neolithic period in Southwest Asia and Egypt is generally accepted to be when a. the use of mathematics began b. a system of writing developed c. tools and weapons were made from iron d. civilizations developed The Neolithic period is generally accepted to end in a particular region with the beginning of the Iron Age. The ability to extract iron from ore and forge it into weapons and tools in ancient times in Southwest Asia and Egypt took place more than a thousand years after civilizations, mathematics, and writing developed. Because of cultural diffusion, the use of iron in other regions began before the other cultural characteristics became common.

5. Which of the following animals was LEAST likely to be domesticated in the Neolithic period? a. water buffalo b. sheep c. goats d. Bears Bears were not domesticated. They are difficult to tame. Bears are carnivores (meat eaters) and, therefore, competed with humans for food. Herbivores (plant eaters) such as goats, pigs, cattle, and sheep are more docile and their flesh is better tasting. Some herbivores can be milked and others, such as water buffalo, can be trained to pull plows. The only commonly domesticated carnivores were dogs, which were commonly used in herding.